


Innocent Mistakes

by bakanekofan



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: As children, Brotherly Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Night Terrors, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 11:49:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bakanekofan/pseuds/bakanekofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Loki has night terrors about Jotunheim and little Thor tries to make it all better... Unfortunately, given his tendency to be a bit overzealous, he may have only sealed their fate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Innocent Mistakes

**Author's Note:**

> This is based loosely off of something mentioned in a roleplay once. It is very mildly Thorki, but mostly in a brotherly love way, so it's hardly even worth mentioning.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any part of any of the Marvel universes.

A young Aesir prince, about the equivalent of a seven year old Midgardian child, lie awake in bed, staring at the ceiling of his grandiose room, fighting sleep with all his might, even as the sweet sounds of a summer’s eve in Asgard drifted in through his open window… No, he could not sleep, not yet, he would deny it. At least not until- The young blonde prince sat up in bed quite suddenly, his loose golden locks flying into his face from the momentum of it as a shrill scream broke through the peace of night. Quietly as he could, he slid out of bed and out of his room, into the one directly across the hall from his own. There lie the frail form of his brother, thrashing about in his own bed, whimpering in his fitful sleep. How many nights was this, now, that Thor had missed sleep, waiting to be woken by these screams? “Loki,” He called out softly, moving to the bed and shaking his brother gently, “Loki, wake up- ‘tis but a dream.”

Eyes snapped open as the smaller body jerked upright, those eyes flashing crimson for a moment before fading back to their usual green shade. Another thing that troubled Thor, though he never spoke of it. Those eyes moved to meet his own, and he felt Loki’s body relax beneath his palms, “Thor? I’m sorry, I did not mean to wake you,” The younger murmured apologetically.

Thor shook his head dismissively, “I was already awake.” Not a lie, really, and Loki would know that, he knew. Thor had never been a talented liar, that had always been Loki’s field of expertise. Inviting himself to crawl into bed with his brother, he asked, “What was it, this time?”

“The same thing,” Loki mumbled, “I was alone in this frozen wasteland- it was beautiful, in its own right, but so, so cold, and I was so hungry, so confused… Everything was blue, fantastic pillars of ice and snow, a beautiful place, really, but… So cold, so lonely,” He curled into himself, “I felt so exposed, I might freeze to death at any moment, and I tried to scream for help, but my voice caught and I-”

“You are safe here,” Thor assured him with a smile, resting a hand on Loki’s shoulder as he repeated, “ ‘twas but a dream, my brother.” A companionable silence fell between them for a while before Loki curled into Thor’s side, clinging to his brother as if his life depended on it, and Thor gladly shared his warmth. It had been like this every night for many moons, and it was beginning to take it’s toll on Thor’s body as well as his mind. He worried for his brother, but more than that, he worried about the fear in his eyes whenever Loki tried to describe the place from his dreams. In his experience, dreams were never so consistent, and never so frequent.

Loki quivered, and though Thor wasn't sure if it was from the perceived cold of the dream or from fear itself, it ceased when the Aesir Prince pulled thick furs over them and settled in beside Loki. No, Thor decided, this was no simple dream, it was a memory. He had read of such things- in spite of Loki’s constant verbal barbs about his being unintelligent, he had, in fact, researched this particular subject late into the night in an attempt to try to discover a way to ease his brother’s pain- every night before bed he offered to spend the night in Loki’s room, but every night, Loki would refuse him, saying Thor was overreacting, but every night ended the same way, Loki would scream, Thor would console him, and the two would remain together the rest of the night.

“It can’t go on like this…” Thor mumbled to himself, looking down at Loki’s troubled face illuminated by the moonlight. They must have been memories, according to his studies, but- how could that be? They had been inseparable, hadn't they? Would he not share the same memories himself? Whatever the place was, it was real, that Thor firmly believed, and he knew that they were fated to meet it again, as Princes of Asgard and keepers of peace, surely they would come to the place of Loki’s nightmares again, and when they did, they would be prepared.

“Loki,” Thor murmured. Loki mumbled in recognition at the sound of his name, but the troubled look on his face let the young Thunderer know that his brother was still asleep. Smiling at his brother’s childlike innocence, Thor took Loki’s hand in his own, “I swear to you, brother, from this day on… You will never suffer alone.” He felt a squeeze as Loki’s fingers constricted around his hand, the worry on his face washing away as he basked in the warmth that was Thor- but he was still fast asleep, acting only reflexively, likely to something happening within the dream. “I shall train- become strong, the way father always wanted me to be, every day I’ll train so when the day comes that we face those demons of your past, I will be strong enough to destroy them all. My Mjolnir and I, we will protect you, Loki.” Having said this, he nestled himself against his brother and finally, after months without rest, drifted off to sleep.

Come morning- or, what Thor believed to be morning- the young god found himself alone in Loki’s bed, the chill of the empty space where his brother had been informing him that he had been gone for quite some while. With a sigh and a frown, he moved to get out of bed and returned to his own room, where he dressed and readied himself for the day. On the table beside his own bed, something metallic caught his eye- Mjolnir. His father had given him the mighty hammer as a gift earlier in the year, but he had neglected to even try to get used to using it, preferring to spar with his fists or not at all, but now, he remembered his vow to Loki and grinned before lifting it in his hands. It was heavy, as he had yet to become accustomed to handling it, but he managed to hold it up, turning it over and examining it in his hands for a time before he felt eyes drilling holes into him from the door. Looking up, he saw that, evidently, Loki had come to check on him. “Brother,” He greeted, allowing his hand and Mjolnir to drop to his side as he moved to speak properly with Loki, “Did you sleep well?”

“I did, for once,” Loki confessed, edging his way into the room, “As did you, evidently, it’s well after noon now, you know.”

Thor failed to mask his shock, “After noon?” Loki nodded in response, “I suppose I did sleep well, then,” The Thunderer replied with a somewhat uncharacteristically sheepish grin.

Gesturing to Mjolnir, Loki wondered, “What are you doing with that? I thought you preferred your fists?”

Thor glanced down at the hammer and realized that Loki had likely been asleep throughout the entire conversation. No matter- Thor would keep his word. It was probably best this way, anyway… Knowing that Thor had gone to so much trouble would only concern Loki further. Returning his gaze to his brother’s, he flashed a charming smile, “If I fail to learn how to properly wield my weapon, I am no warrior, am I? Though my fists may be fine for sparring, there may come a day when I will need all the help I can get. Think of it as an enhancement, like you with your magic.”

Seeming satisfied with this answer, Loki nodded, “Father has requested your presence in the throne room, but… You should eat something, first. It would be bad to practice on an empty stomach. I can buy you some time,” With a coy grin, Loki dismissed himself from his brother’s chambers to distract the All-Father while Thor got breakfast.

Loki was always doing things like this for Thor, looking out for him… Now, finally, Thor had his chance to look out for Loki, with more than just the playground bullies. Clenching Mjolnir in his fist, he left his room in the direction opposite his brother to ask his mother for a meal to prepare himself for what would prove to be a grueling training session, and one that he repeated day in and day out for many years to come.

That night, on his way to bed, Thor, as usual, turned to Loki as they said their goodnights and asked, “Would you like my company again tonight?”

Loki had only smiled and assured him, “It’s over now, Thor. My nightmare has become but a pleasant dream that I shall cherish.” With these simple words, he disappeared behind his door, and Thor shrugged, fully expecting to hear Loki screaming into the night as he had so many nights before, but no screams came. By the time the sun came up, Thor had gotten no sleep, but Loki emerged from his room well-rested and ready for the day. Thor never did find out what the nightmare had become, he had never dared to ask for fear of bringing up old scars, but from that day forward, he stopped asking to spend the night in Loki’s room, and Loki, in turn, ceased to have any further nightmares about that place. Little did they know just how much those few months had driven them together and torn them apart, all in the same brief moment in time.


End file.
